The four-story, 941-space city garage could begin rising in September near the corner of Gallatin Street and St. Clair Avenue.

General Services Director Jeff Easter said the city will give Pearce the green light to start work as soon as the private developers involved in Twickenham Square - Triad Properties, Bristol Development Group and PGM Properties - buy the land from the Huntsville Housing Authority.

Gerry Shannon, a Triad executive, said that is scheduled to happen Aug. 9.

"I think this (series of council approvals) gets us to a land closing," Shannon said Thursday afternoon. "We've been working on this piece of property for about two years, so I'm ecstatic."

Of the eight contractors that submitted bids for the parking garage, Pearce was the cheapest at $7,104,770. Extras requested by the city - including a fourth level, upgraded facade and LED lighting - added another $2.6 million.

The total budget for the garage, including architectural designs and utilities, is $11.8 million.

Finance Director Randy Taylor said the city will cover about $9.2 million from its capital budget, plus current and future Alabama Trust Fund money.

This sketch shows the intersection of Gallatin Street and Lowe Avenue as they will appear after the development is completed. (The Huntsville Times/Submitted photo)

Developers are chipping in $500,000 toward the garage and will pay the entire cost of a smaller parking deck reserved for residents of the Flats at Twickenham Square apartments.

Huntsville Hospital, located caddy-corner from the project, will pay the city $2.1 million to lease 209 spaces on the top floor of the main parking deck.

Spokesman Burr Ingram said those spaces are needed for employee parking.

"With a growing community, you always have to provide more opportunities for parking," Ingram said Thursday. "Additional (parking spaces) will be appreciated."

All told Thursday, the council OK'd 12 legal agreements related to Twickenham Square, including parking leases, development agreements and a land swap with the housing authority.

In exchange for the 2.1-acre tract on which the parking garage will sit, the city will pay the housing authority $380,000 and also give it 2.7 acres along Holmes Avenue at the Searcy Homes public housing site acquired several years ago as part of a flood control project.

The housing authority intends to use its Councill Courts land sale proceeds to buy or build new public housing units throughout the city.

Meanwhile, Huntsville Hospital plans to move its clinical laboratory to the Triad-owned office tower at Twickenham Square. Shannon said the lab will cover about 1 1/2 floors in the five-story building.

A pedestrian bridge between the office tower and hospital also is on the drawing board.

"It's been a very complicated deal with all the developers and their attorneys and their financial institutions," Mayor Tommy Battle said Thursday. "Our team has done a great job of protecting the taxpayers and achieving the goals we were looking to achieve.